Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini loss to Marquette

Illinois basketball hung tough with the No. 4 Marquette Golden Eagles on Tuesday night.

This was a pretty good game throughout. I don’t believe the Illini ever got into a double-digit hole, and we kept this game in reach to the point we had opportunities late in the second half.

Execution got the best of us, though. Illinois couldn’t make the key plays we needed to make to get us over the hump and take down a top-five program. Sadly, the Illini ended up losing the game, 71-64.

Here are five observations from the Illinois basketball loss to Marquette

1. Illinois couldn’t stop Tyler Kolek

Sometimes you run into a player who is just better than your best defender. That is what happened on Tuesday night.

Marquette has one of the best players in the country in Tyler Kolek. He averaged 12.9 points, 7.5 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game last season, and he has picked up right where he left off this year.

There was uncertainty if Kolek would play on Tuesday night due to an injury, but the returning third-team All-American was a go, and he dominated the Illini. Kolek finished the game with 24 points, six rebounds, four assists, and two steals while hitting 10-of-18 from the floor and 1-of-2 from three-point range.

Illinois threw multiple players at him all night long, but we had no answers. Overall, I am not terribly mad at how the Illini defense played, but we can’t let the best player go off for a big night. This should have been one of those situations where we shut down the main play at all costs and let the rest of the team try to beat us.

I am impressed with Kolek as a player. This kid has a bright future. I just hope this is a learning lesson for the Illini as we move forward in the season. It is good to get a crash course against one of the best players in the country.